Willow Smith: Whipper Snapper

Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, and more than 34 million YouTube users are already fans. Get ready for pop's newest star, Willow Smith. (Oh yeah, and she's only ten.)

Asked if she can relate to most ten-year-olds, Willow Smith doesn't miss a beat. "Of course—I am one!" she says, stopping just short of letting out a giant "duh."

But it's not exactly the stupidest query in the world, since, at least on the outside, Willow has the kind of life most fifth graders don't: movie-star parents (Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith), a famous big brother who's BFFs with Justin Bieber (The Karate Kid star Jaden), a film career of her own (Kit Kittredge: An American Girl and I Am Legend), and, of course, one megahit song.

Unless you don't have a radio, TV, or Internet connection, you've probably heard the übercatchy "Whip My Hair," which, since its release this fall, has scored more than 34 million hits on YouTube and a number eleven slot on the Billboard Hot 100—a milestone no other ten-year-old has reached.

Willow, who joins Justin on his European tour this month, admits that even she's still getting used to it all. "When I first put ['Whip My Hair'] out, everyone was like, 'Willow, Willow, I love your song!' And I was like, 'Really?'" recalls the singer.

She credits the incredible popularity of the single, in part, to its positive message. "Whipping your hair means not being afraid to be yourself," Willow explains. "If people don't like you, then bunck them, you know?"

That certainly sums up Willow. While pop stars double her age (and size) have opted for no pants and lots of cleavage, she's cultivated a unique look that
consists of outrageous updos (she rocks a particularly memorable heart-shaped bouffant in the "Whip My Hair" video) and baggy neon streetwear. "I wear anything I feel like," says the singer, who masterminds her outfits with a team of fashion stylists and hairdressers that she refers to as "my crew." "If I want to put on a pair of Converse with a pencil stuck through them, I will." She's also developed an interest in fancier attire, attending the Dolce & Gabbana spring show with her mom. "Their designs are really cool," she says.

She counts Billy Idol among her style icons, but if her getups bear any resemblance to her dad's wacky clothes from his Fresh Prince days, it's purely a coincidence: "I've never even heard that before," she says.

Not that her parents aren't an inspiration. Willow believes they're the reason she got interested in music in the first place. "I used to go on tour with my mom and dad and see what they were doing, and I'd tell them, 'Oh, I wanna do that, I wanna do that,'" she recalls. A year ago her parents gave in and sent her "Whip My Hair" demo to their friend Jay-Z, who was reportedly so shocked the singer on the track was only nine years old—not to mention the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith—that he insisted on signing the young talent to his Roc Nation label immediately.